The present invention relates to a flavored konnyaku composition, a process for preparing the same and a food product containing the same, and more particularly to a flavored konnyaku composition excellent in taste and flavor and useful for reducing the calories of various food products, a process for preparing the same and a food product containing the same.
The term "Konnyaku" used in this specification and in the appended claims means a Japanese food in gel form mainly consisting of glucomannan prepared from powdered konnyaku obtained by drying the roots of a perennial herb of the taro family with botanical name of Amorphophallus Konjac C. Koch, A. bulbifer, A. oncohyllus, A. variabilis, A. blumei and A. rivieri.
Recently, as the European and American eating habit prevails gradually among people, obesity resulting from the increase in the fat ingestion and overintake of calories so that the adverse effect of the obesity on the heart is coming to the fore as a problem, thereby creating the increasing demand for the development of low-fat and low-caloric foods. Recent consumers, however, are not satisfied simply with the low caloric foods but they are seeking the low-caloric food with rich flavor.
Especially, the food products produced mainly by using animal meat such as hamburger are known as the food products of relatively high fat content and high calorie. For example, hamburger has 13.4% fat content and the calorific value of 223 kcal per 100 g; Vienna sausage 23.0% fact content and 304 kcal per 100 g; and meat balls 16.4% fat content and 244 kcal per 100 g (Source: Fourth Revised Edition of Food Composition Table). Thus, there is a strong demand for the substantial reduction of the calories of the food products such as processed meat products, processed fish meat products and sweets including desserts.
Conventionally, the use of konnyaku as a non-calorie food for reducing the calorific value of the food product has been known. Konnyaku is a high-alkali food with pH value of 11 to 12 obtained by swelling with water powdered konnyaku mainly consisting of glucomannan, which is not digestible with the human digestive enzymes, and turning into a gel form by adding an alkaline coagulating agent thereto. By heating or freezing konnyaku, its peculiar elastic mouth feel touch is increased to become close to that of meat. Thus, it has been proposed to substitute konnyaku for some part of ground meat or to knead and mix konnyaku together with the raw materials of a food product containing ground meat.
More particularly, a method of using konnyaku in the form of chopped pieces or in the minced form ground by a mincer has already been proposed (Refer to Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 57-33571 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 58-78571). The method, however, has disadvantages in that astringent taste is felt as highly alkaline konnyaku is used as it is, and that when a large amount of konnyaku is used, the taste of the food product is seriously decreased. Besides, if the commercially available konnyaku is used after flavoring, not only the flavor will not penetrate well into inside because of highly alkaline nature of the commercially available konnyaku but also the taste of the food will be adversely affected by the alkali to kill the effects of the seasonings. Thus, another method has been proposed (Refer to Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 63-254962). In this method, the ordinary commercially available konnyaku is chopped and immersed in a weakly acidic solution to adjust the pH of konnyaku. Alternatively, after a small amount of alkali substance is added to the ordinary commercially available konnyaku and heated, weak acid is added for pH adjustment to obtain konnyaku in paste form. This method, however, is disadvantageous in that the surface of konnyaku is apt to be softened while immersed in the weakly acidic solution for pH adjustment, and it takes a considerably long time period for the acid to penetrate uniformly into the inside of konnyaku texture, and konnyaku as a whole is susceptible to adverse effect of the acid. Besides, even with the use of acid-treated konnyaku immersed in acid, it is difficult to flavor konnyaku evenly in its entirety.
On the other hand, there is proposed (Refer to Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 1-153060) another method, wherein, in order to improve the mouth feel touch of konnyaku itself, an alkaline substance is added to a sol composed of gel forming materials such as carrageenan or starch, powdered konnyaku and water is added to obtain a substance in the paste or liquid form, which is then mixed with ground meat components and frozen to manufacture a food product. The food product is heated when cooking to react with the alkaline substance added to the sol to turn the substance in the paste or liquid form into gel form. This method contributes to the improvement of the mouth touch feel of konnyaku but not to the improvement of the flavor of konnyaku.